BootsnAll Travel Community

Whoa,
That is some direction, I will have to read it a few times. Uh, we may opt for the cab. But,. I really like the idea of not cheating. We do travel light, Brian is just a back pack, but us ladies have a little rollie bag and a small day pack. I am very impressed with his mother's stamina and her appreciation for adventure. So, some delving into the "where's waldo" or rather "where's the otogar" might be something never to forget.

Has anyone heard fo the boating outfit out of Fethiye called "before lunch?" www.beforelunch.com
They seem very professional and don't do the Olympos and coast scene, but straight to something called 12 islands.
We are thinking of doing a 4 day with them.

And another thing we are truely wanting to do is Cyprus. We have a few days to squeeze something else in, and I am thinking Cyprus. What's that like?
Thanks for everything
Diana

To be honest, I thought the directions were a little over-complicated, at least for Ataturk.

You can take the tram to Zeytinburnu, and then transfer to the Metro bound for Havalimani (Ataturk Airport). It doesn't have to be complicated. It's also possible to transfer between the tram and Metro at Yusufpasa (tram)/Aksaray (Metro), which are about a block apart, though you'll have to negotiate some stairs there.

Map

Likewise, I found the Metro simple enough to navigate to get to the Otogar. It's well signed, and Turks conveniently use the Roman alphabet, so it's nicely legible.

While Tortuga may have a point on the price difference being negligible between a cab and public transit, I'm not exactly confident that you'd save much time travelling surface routes in Istanbul traffic.

Well, with three people the cab is probably a good option.
Its about 3 Turkish lira per person to make the trip, and the cab would be 15 to 20.

You have no idea how many young and inexperienced young men and women in groups of four decide to save 5 turkish lira and spend two extra hours of their time.

Just recently, some people in spain had a time crunch, almost late for a flight, but balked at spending a whole 20 euros for a cab to the airport. Mind you, they called a cab, but ran when the found out the cab might take five minutes to arrive. Yah...

The other is to go to a travel agency and do it that way, but grandma might enjoy the little trip on public transport.

Still, if you leave plenty of time to arrive, and it is about a one hour trek to the otogar by public transport, you will do so easily.

BTW.. heres a tip. Take that same tram to Zeytinburnu and get off by the city walls. You can't mis them, they're 10 meters high and they're walls. Its a really fascinating walk around the walls, and absolutely free.

True. Its fairly easy to take the metro as described to the airport, but I've found that if you have serious luggage, the shuttle is the easiest way to go for individuals. That's how I usually do it now.

PS. Don't even THINK about taking the train to the closest stop, and walking to the airport on foot. I did that too on a lark. I told my friend one DOESNT walk to the airport, but he wouldn't listen, had to take ALL the ways there.(VBG)

Oh, and getting back from Ataturk has to be from the Metro, private bus, or cab. Its very hard to find the public bus that goes to Istanbul, leaving you with expensive private buses by design.

When I'm doing a scouting mission there, as I did once or twice, I take public transport.

Yes, it is Aksaray that is the transfer point.

Okay,
got the cappadocia transport all worked out. After all the great options to the airport, in Istanbul via public transport, we chickened out and are taking a cab to the airport. The greatest thing is I have been talking to the owner of Fairy Chimney Hotel in Goreme (cave hotel), where we are staying. Andus, is a German Anthropologist married to a Turkish woman (a chef). Amazing people, and she gives cooking lessons. Anyone going to Cappadocia should check them out. But, new questions here.
We will be in Bodrum in late August after our gulet cruise and will be traveling to Ephesus, then to Selcuk, and finally back to Istanbul. If we have 4 days to do all that, how should we travel, bus or train? We will, of course, spend most of a day in Ephesus at the ruins, and briefly at Artemis Temple, (funny, my name is Diana Temple, the Roman equivelant), then a night in Selcuk and back to Istanbul.I am hearing that from Bodrum we should travel to Selcuk, then back track to Ephesus, by bus. Do buses just let you off and then we can find a return at our leisure? We just don't want to be restricted by a tour bus time line.. Then, I imagine a train to Istanbul is the quickest and most comfortable. Any names of companies? And, is Sunday a good day to travel?
Thanks,
Diana (Artemis)

Selcuk and Ephesus are pretty much the same place (2 miles from town to the archeological site), so it's not really a backtrack. Our hotel provided transportation to the site free, though we did have to decide how long we wanted to stay, in advance, since we had to meet him at the end of the day, as well.

As for Selcuk-Istanbul...travel in Turkey is always best done by bus. It's faster, and while comfort is comparable, the service tends to be better on the buses. Also, if you look at the map below, you'll see that a trip from Selcuk to Istanbul is rather awkward. Add to that the train arriving on the Asian shore, and it's just not a very convenient way to get into the city. We only took one Turkish train (from the Greek border to Istanbul), and even though it was a fairly direct route, it was still painfully slow...took about 7 hours to cover the ground a bus would have done in about 2 and a half. Lovely scenery though.

Awesome, we will bus from Selcuk to Istanbul. Do you have suggestion to a hotel in Selcuk?, we can afford moderate prices, 2-3 star is perfect. We prefer not to be in the middle of things, we are in our fifties and do love quieter areas, though I realize that isn't always possible. I haven't read up on Selcuk yet.
Diana

I haven't stayed there, but check out the Kalehan Hotel

Thanks Static, i have a note to kalehan.....the site looks great, and organic fare is always a plus.
As for the bus from Selcuk to Istanbul, any prefered bus line?

The usual system for bus tickets is to arrive at the station and let the touts know where you're going. Then just take the next departure. Except in small towns, it's unlikely to be more than 45 minutes...we regularly waited less than 20. (And Selcuk doesn't qualify as small, because it's still got a busy bus station)

All the major companies are good. There must be at least 1000 good bus companies in Turkey, so it's hard to narrow it down. Varan, Metro, Kamil Koc, are all big and high quality companies who should run Selcuk-Istanbul, to name just a few. Some of the smaller local companies run older buses, so they can be slightly less comfortable, but still offer good service.

Just let your guesthouse do that for you.

Remember to pick your seats in advance (seats are reserved) so that you can get a view, avoid the sunny side, be close to or away from the toilet, not sit over the rear wheels, whatever you fancy. The buses will all be big and modern doing that run. Remember to have a big bottle of Su (water) with you wherever you go.

Great info, both of you. We are booking with Kalehan, they offer a room with a double and a room with a single attached, with taxes and breakfast for 84 euros, which I think is fine, considering we really don't want to shop around on that particular day.They have a good pool and view of the castle, though I doubt we would ever use a pool as we walk until dark.
And 2wanderers, you have eliminated my anxiety about the whole bus system, I am realizing, it is a bus nation, and they accommodate accordingly. I am just going to relax about our time schedule with buses. It will all be fine.
just how many hours is it to Istanbul from Selcuk, anyway?
Opps, worrying again, eh?

It's a fairly long trip, and not one that I did. The ever helpful Turkey Travel Planner says 10 hours for 700 km, which sounds about right.

I've done that trip a couple of times. It is, um, quite dull.

There are two highlights though: You get a splendid ferry ride out of the deal and a mandatory stop for food at one of those "Only-In-Turkey Bus Stop Extravaganzas" where you have to pay to pee.

On the other hand, lemon cologne. (On both hands, actually)

Have we mentioned the lemon cologne?
It's worth riding a bus in Turkey just for that.

We are prepared for the 10 bus ride from Selcuk to Istanbul, and the lemon cologne. (has to be better than some of the scents of a Bolivian collectivo.)
WE are in Bodrum before Selcuk and our hotel is pitching a private car (for 3 of us) to Ephesus, Artemis Temple, then a drop off at our hotel in Selcuk for 250 euros. The driver would wait at Ephesus for as long as we needed. I replied graciously that it was out of our price range, and they (the hotel)said it was very difficult to find transport from Bodrum to Selcuk. Seems unlikely to me as Turkey has buses practically running atop each other.
Has anyone bussed from Bodrum to Selcuk? I think it is a couple hours.

Ignore them. They are fibbing.

aha, I knew it!